This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing fasteners from sets of documents.
Such an apparatus and such a method are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,690.
It is noted that fasteners to be removed occur in a large variety, as in the form of staples with a bridge part and two bent legs, eyelets, metal plates which are bent over a corner of a document, and split pins which, in fitted condition, have a button resting against the set of documents.
The apparatus and method according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,690 constitute an improvement over the destaplers known heretofore, especially for rapidly removing large numbers of staples, because the laborious hooking of the fastener and then pulling it away relative to the documents have been replaced by a single operation, whereby at least a portion of the staple is pressed into the set of documents.
However, a drawback of this known destapler is that a staple, after it has been pressed into the set of documents, must still be separated from the documents. A further drawback of this known destapler, and the method to be practiced with it, is that the staples cannot be pressed through sets of documents of a thickness more than twice the wire thickness of the staple. Further, in many cases, the fastener tilts during compression, so that the maximum thickness of a set of documents through which a staple can be pressed is limited to a set of documents having a compressed thickness less than a single time the wire thickness of a fastener.
The object of the invention to provide a solution to the problem of removing fasteners very fast and reliably from sets of documents.
According to the present invention, this object is realized by providing an apparatus for removing fasteners from sets of documents, which comprises a perforator for perforating a set of documents closely along at least a portion of a fastener to be removed. A further embodiment of the invention for realizing this object is formed by a method for removing fasteners from sets of documents, wherein the set of documents is perforated along at least a portion of the fastener to be removed.
By perforating the set of documents from which the fastener is to be removed, a passage right through the set of documents is created in a simple and reliable manner, so that the fastener can be simply removed. The perforation provided in the set of documents when removing the staple may be of a very minor size and does not constitute any essentially greater damage of the documents than the weakening of the documents and the creases and dog-ears formed in the conventional removal of fasteners. Generally, next to the perforation, sufficient space is left for fastening the documents to each other again, if desired. In general, it is advantageous if the perforation extends as closely as possible alongside the staple. Perforating directly alongside the staple is most ideal, but it is also possible to select distances between the position of this fastener to be removed and the most proximal edge portion of the perforation to be less than 1, 2, 3 mm or slightly more.
Hereinafter, further objects, embodiments, effects and advantages of the invention are described and explained on the basis of a presently most preferred exemplary embodiment and a few variants, with reference to the drawing.